The Pune police and Persistent Systems have a long history of collaboration. R Venkateswaran, senior-vice president, Internet of things (IoT) solutions, Persistent Systems spoke to Nadeem Inamdar about the state-of-the-art Pune police control room digitisation project carried out by Persistent Systems and the benefits of bringing police action closer to technology.

When did Persistent decide to work with the Pune police commissionerate on the control room project?

Persistent has a long association with the Pune police and has contributed to various initiatives of interest to the community. In 2007, Persistent helped the police setup up a cyber training facility in association with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM). We extended this facility to host a forensic lab in 2012. In 2014, under the guidance of Satish Mathur, the former Pune police commissioner, we had undertaken an initiative to modernise and enhance the women’s helpline (1091). As a part of the initiative, we assisted the police in deploying a voice logger solution for the helpline. Considering our long history of working together, when Pune police was looking to modernise their control room in 2015, we were happy to support them in the endeavour.

What is the control room project all about? What is the collaborative role of Persistent and Pune police in the initiative?

A key initiative undertaken by Pune police is to enhance citizen engagement and ensure that all citizens have access to a reliable and responsive mechanism to approach the police. The control room performs a very critical function and acts as a central gateway for any citizen in need of help. Under the initiative, the police, under the leadership of Rashmi Shukla, commissioner, Pune police, sought to modernise its police control room. The Dial-100 solution automates control room operations from challan creation to routing the challan to the correct dispatcher, while tracking and recording all related activities till the challan is closed. The police provided the necessary domain expertise and guided Persistent on the automation requirements. As a technology expert, Persistent provided the necessary software to initiate the project.

What is the agreement between Pune police and Persistent in regards to the Dial-100 project?

Persistent Systems provided the Dial-100 solution along with allied software and necessary hardware. Persistent also agreed to support the solution for a period of three years from the date of commissioning. We have also trained more than 200 police personnel to use the new automated system.The Pune police staff has also been independently using automated system.

What are the key achievements of the new system?

The first phase of the project was commissioned live in February 2016 with a capacity of 10 responders. In 2017, we extended the capacity of the control room to support 24 responders. As a result, there is a rise in overall call handling capacity and an improvement in the overall control room response time. In conjunction with other digital initiatives undertaken by Pune police, the Dial-100 initiative has helped them become more accessible and has allowed them to serve the citizens of the city better.

What does the future look like for Persistent and Pune police collaborations?

Persistent Systems will continue our close association with the Pune police by supporting them with their various technology needs. We will continue to work with them on Dial-100 and the women’s helpline. These are all steps towards bringing Pune police on par with international standards and we will continue to support them in serving the citizens of Pune.